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State of the planet
Author(s) -
Brenner Logan
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
international journal of applied psychoanalytic studies
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.314
H-Index - 15
eISSN - 1556-9187
pISSN - 1742-3341
DOI - 10.1002/aps.1616
Subject(s) - deglaciation , glacial period , climate change , greenhouse gas , climate state , planet , global warming , greenhouse effect , abrupt climate change , environmental science , runaway climate change , climatology , earth science , geology , effects of global warming , oceanography , astronomy , paleontology , physics
Earth is a dynamic planet, with warm and cool periods comprising its detailed climate history. We can find sudden shifts between these phases in the past; however, from the geological time scale perspective, for a transition to be abrupt, it occurs over millennia. In modern times, we are faced with a much faster rate of change, at least an order of magnitude faster than the transition from the last glacial period, about 20,000 years ago. Modern temperature rise is also accompanied by rising greenhouse gases, which are major contributors to climate change. Atmospheric CO 2 , a major greenhouse gas, is increasing about 100 times faster than it did during the last deglaciation. This CO 2 input can be traced back to human activities and is a necessary piece to the global warming puzzle. The following details the current state of climate on Earth as well as some projections for future conditions. With the scientific outline of our changing climate, we can better understand our roles as contributors and individual and collective responsibility to mitigate these impacts.